Activity 3: Observe Psychological First Aid In this activity you have the opportunity to hear a conversation between a survivor of bomb blast and a Red Cross behavioral health volunteer. This role play is an example of how psychological first aid can be administered by someone who has received training; it is not what you are expected to be able to do as a result of this training program. Learning Objectives List the behaviors that responders can perform to assist survivors immediately following a disaster, including promoting safety, calm, connectedness, self-efficacy and help. Instructions This activity can be completed in approximately 15 minutes. 1. Review the Psychological First Aid Checklist on the next page. 2. Restart the program and listen to the role play of interaction between a Red Cross volunteer and a survivor following a disaster. As you watch the video, listen for the behaviors on the Psychological First Aid Checklist. This is an example of how PFA can be administered by a trained professional. It is not what you are expected to do as a result of this training. 3. Stop the video and check the behaviors demonstrated in the role play. You can check the role play narration in the workbook to recall the specific dialog. 4. Compare your answers with the Answer Key on page 102. 5. When you have finished Activity 3, start the video to continue the program. Module Two Activity 3: Observe Psychological First Aid 1
Psychological First Aid Checklist After you have listened to the role play on the video, check all the behaviors you observed on the checklist below. You may refer to the transcript of the narration on the next page. When you are done, compare your answers with the Answer Key at the end of this activity. Help people meet basic needs for food and shelter, and obtain emergency medical attention (Safety) Provide repeated, simple and accurate information on how to get these basic needs (Safety) Listen to people who wish to share their stories and emotions, and remember that there is no right or wrong way to feel (Calm) Be friendly and compassionate, even if people are being difficult (Calm) Offer accurate information about the disaster or trauma, and the relief efforts underway to help survivors understand the situation (Calm) Help people contact friends and loved ones (Connectedness) Keep families together. Keep children with parents or other close relatives whenever possible (Connectedness) Give practical suggestions that steer people toward helping themselves (Self-Efficacy) Engage people in meeting their own needs (Self-Efficacy) Find out the types and locations of government and non-government services and direct people to those services that are available (Help) When they express fear or worry, remind people (if you know) that more help and services are on the way (Help) Source: SAMHSA, Psychological First Aid for First Responders: Tips for Emergency and Disaster Response Workers, NMH05-0210 Module Two Activity 3: Observe Psychological First Aid 2
Psychological First Aid Activity Role Play Narration Helper: Hi I m Patricia. I am part of the Red Cross team here. Survivor: Hi, I m Eric. Helper: Is there anything you need? Survivor: Well, I was just waiting here to see if I would be able to take any of my wife s stuff home. She was killed in the bombing and it s been a hell of a time trying to get everything straight. There s been so much to cover, so many people to call, and I m just exhausted. Helper: That s understandable. So what s in front of you right now in terms of what you need to do? Survivor: Well, I was told to wait here until I can get some information and I m not in the best of moods. It s really been a long day. I want to get back to the kids and I need to make a bunch of phone calls, and I m beat. Helper: Oh, I know that s a lot to deal with. Survivor: Yeah, and as if that wasn t enough, my family has been wanting me to cry or something. Everyone seems to think that until I do something is wrong with me. I know they care about me. It s just that I don t think they realize what I m dealing with here. Helper: You know that is understandable. From the work I ve done here, I ve seen that over and over in families. People don t always realize what s going on with other people. And I can tell you, from what I know about a traumatic death like this, what you are going through right now is really to be expected. You know, first things first. You ve got to take care of the details right now. Get things in order, and on and on. So you are really on track in that way. Survivor: Well, that s good to know. Maybe I can tell my family that and they ll back off. I know I ve got to take care of business and all, but just between me and you, in some ways I wonder if my family is right? When I m alone at night I expect to feel something but I just feel numb. It s the strangest thing. I mean, I love my wife a lot. Why am I not crying? I feel so guilty. Helper: You know, everyone in every situation is really unique, but I can tell you from what I know about trauma, that when someone dies like this in a sudden and unexpected way, it s really common for their spouse to feel numb. Survivor: Really, so I m not crazy? Helper: No, not at all. It s really common to feel numb. That s what comes before the grief in a lot of ways. Survivor: That s so true. It s right. I m just in shock. It s just too much. I can t believe it half the time. Module Two Activity 3: Observe Psychological First Aid 3
Helper: I know. Just remember that you might not cry now. You might not cry at the funeral. You might not cry until much later. The focus on the shock of the death can take over for a while until it sinks in. It s really common for it to delay or interfere with grieving, so it s important not to also feel bad about yourself on top of all that, for not feeling something like what you or your family would expect. Instead, just let it be. Just let your reactions follow at their own pace. You know? Survivor: That s really good to know. I m actually relieved to hear that. I just never thought about it that way. No one in my family has ever died like this so none of us really know. I ll have to tell my family this. Helper: I think that s a really good idea, and from what you ve said I know none of this makes it any easier to be a parent either. Survivor: Yeah, I know. What can I do? I m not sure how to handle this. Helper: You know, you ve got time to deal with that. For now you ve a lot to handle. Each of you will have your own way of handling this and your own pace. Survivor: You know, it s really true; we all have our own personalities. It s amazing from being related. Helper: Yeah, and that has to be appreciated and respected. If you can just set up an attitude of a family understanding each other, you re doing really well. If you re having a hard time you can tell them something like, I m not doing so well but in a few months I ll feel better, but we don t need to go into that now. You can talk about that later when you have time and less pressure. Survivor: Okay. Helper: I don t want to leave you in the middle of it. If you want to take more time later you can choose the right place and time. Survivor: Okay. Helper: I ll be here from 10 until 6 for another two weeks, and I can also give you a card with a website address and an 800 number for you to call if you have any questions or if you want to talk about anything else. Survivor: Thanks. That ll be great. Helper: Someone will always be at that number whenever you want. There are some good people down there who can talk with you about yourself, your kids, you name it. You know, none of us are experts on how to handle a shock like this in our lives, and sometimes it s helpful just to bounce your thoughts off of someone else who s familiar with this. Survivor: You know, it s really been good to talk with you. It s been very helpful. Helper: No problem. You just keep taking care of yourself and please feel free to call if you ever need anything. Survivor: Thanks. Module Two Activity 3: Observe Psychological First Aid 4
Activity 3: Observe Psychological First Aid Answer Key The behaviors demonstrated in the scenario are indicated with a check mark; behaviors not performed by the helper are indicated by a circle. In italics you will see at least one example of what the helper said to demonstrate the behavior or an explanation of what was not done and why. Please note that this is an example of how PFA can be administered by a trained professional. It is not what you are expected to do as a result of this training. Help people meet basic needs for food and shelter, and obtain emergency medical attention (Safety) The helper says, Is there anything you need? Ο Provide repeated, simple and accurate information on how to get these basic needs (Safety) In this scenario, the survivor did not indicate any basic needs for food, shelter or medical attention, perhaps due to the nature of the incident (a bombing that killed his wife) and the fact that this discussion is taking place weeks after the incident. Listen to people who wish to share their stories and emotions, and remember that there is no right or wrong way to feel (Calm) The helper says, That s understandable. So what s in front of you right now in terms of what you need to do? and I know that s a lot to deal with. Be friendly and compassionate, even if people are being difficult (Calm) The helper says, You know that is understandable. From the work I ve done here, I ve seen that over and over in families. People don t always realize what s going on with other people. And I can tell you, from what I know about a traumatic death like this, what you are going through right now is really to be expected. You know, first things first. You ve got to take care of the details right now. Get things in order, and on and on. So you are really on track in that way. Ο Offer accurate information about the disaster or trauma, and the relief efforts underway to help survivors understand the situation (Calm) In this scenario, the helper provides information about trauma (see above), but does not address the overall relief effort. Ο Help people contact friends and loved ones (Connectedness) In this scenario, the survivor is already in contact with his loved ones so additional help is not indicated. Ο Keep families together. Keep children with parents or other close relatives whenever possible (Connectedness) While this survivor is connected with his Module Two Activity 3: Observe Psychological First Aid 5
family, the helper offers advice on how the family can function during the grieving process. She says, If you can just set up an attitude of a family understanding each other, you re doing really well. If you re having a hard time you can tell them something like, I m not doing so well but in a few months I ll feel better, but we don t need to go into that now. You can talk about that later when you have time and less pressure. Give practical suggestions that steer people toward helping themselves (Self- Efficacy) The helper says, You know, you ve got time to deal with that. For now you ve a lot to handle. Each of you will have your own way of handling this and your own pace. Engage people in meeting their own needs (Self-Efficacy) The helper says, Just remember that you might not cry now. You might not cry at the funeral. You might not cry until much later. The focus on the shock of the death can take over for a while until it sinks in. It s really common for it to delay or interfere with grieving, so it s important not to also feel bad about yourself on top of all that, for not feeling something like what you or your family would expect. Instead, just let it be. Just let your reactions follow at their own pace. You know? Find out the types and locations of government and non-government services and direct people to those services that are available (Help) The helper says, I ll be here from 10 until 6 for another two weeks, and I can also give you a card with a website address and an 800 number for you to call if you have any questions or if you want to talk about anything else. When they express fear or worry, remind people (if you know) that more help and services are on the way (Help) The helper says, Someone will always be at that number whenever you want. There are some good people down there who can talk with you about yourself, your kids, you name it. You know, none of us are experts on how to handle a shock like this in our lives, and sometimes it s helpful just to bounce your thoughts off of someone else who s familiar with this. Photo credits: The photographs in this role play were taken by FEMA photographers after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The photographers are Andrea Booher (3889, 5495, 5477, 5370 and 3915), Lauren Hobart (7142) and Michael Rieger (4008). Module Two Activity 3: Observe Psychological First Aid 6